NEX-LABS launches call for 20 Mobility Vouchers for researchers and innovators

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Are you a young researcher or a brilliant entrepreneur?

Are you an innovator in the EU and Mediterranean Partner Country on Water Energy Food NEXUS industry and do you want to travel in the EU to gain access to the knowledge relevant to your activity sector, at national and international level?

Would you like to be able to detect challenges affecting your activity, such as the regulations evolutions or clusters management and strategy building in WEF NEXUS?

NEX-LABS Project will fund 20 Mobility Voucher (2.500,00 euro per each) to give the opportunity to 20 innovators to join the 2 Fact-finding missions that will be organized respectively in Italy (March/April 2023) and Spain (June/July 2023).

CLIK HERE TO APPLY BY 15th JANUARY 2023

The mobility scheme will provide a grant for travel and accommodation expenses, conference fees (if foreseen) and subsistence costs (justified through original boarding pass, hotel bills, confirmation of attendance and participation at the scheduled brokerage event or conferences, visa expenses).

These fact-finding missions (from 7 to 10 days per each) will allow EU-MPC WEF NEXUS industry and researchers to gain access to the knowledge relevant to their activity sector, at national and international level, to be able to detect challenges affecting their activity, such as the regulations evolutions or clusters management and strategy building. The industry should also benefit from the scientific infrastructures related to their monitoring needs.

Fact-finding missions will be employed to promote the presentation of the researchers and industries explaining, current advances, future perspectives, competitive advantages, and common points of possible interactions between EU and MPC partners. Visits to real sites linked to WEF NEXUS will be planned for expertise exchange (design, exploitation limitations, etc…) and demonstration of the related socio-economic benefits.

PROFILE REQUIRED:

Relevant work experience, including a proven track record of work at the research/innovation-business interface, including cooperation on a regional and international level within the WEF NEXUS. In the case of young researcher/stakeholder training, it will be requested along to the permanent staff, a high academic knowledge related to WEF NEXUS, and being author of relevant publications with high potential of market application.
Previous experience participating in other NEX-LABS activities
Proven activity track of active participation in research projects related to WEF NEXUS at homeland or region during the last five years.
Derived impact of the development of such projects to the society and benefits for the researcher activity.
Evidence based participation in events giving presentations, posters, bilateral meetings, etc…
Visits and stays in research centers or institutions.
Participation in research networks and previous experience in Europe Aid, Interreg, ENI_CBC_MED, FP7, H2020 or Horizon Europe projects.
International cooperation outside of the Mediterranean Region.

To join the opportunity submit your application with the required documents (listed below) by the 15th of January 2023, indicating your preference in joining the Italian or the Spanish (or both) fact-finding mission.

Important dates

15/12/2022 Call is open for MPC applicants visiting EU
15/01/2023 Deadline of the call
01/02/2023 Evaluation and selection
10/02/2023 Information of the applicants
March-April/2023 1st Fact finding mission in Italy
June-July/2023 2nd Fact finding mission in Spain

PROCEDURE

Submit a complete application form along with the required documentation within the indicated deadline(s) through the dedicated form. Application form can be accessed from this link. Applicants should send on a single PDF file, that includes the following documents:
- Candidate CV.
- Endorsement letter by the home institution.
- Motivation letter.
- Short Presentation of concrete research development (RD) or innovation (I) project underway and related objectives or expected impacts from the mobility (max 2 pages) and presentation .ppt (that must include a profile of the candidate, research activity, institutional presentation, photos, and contacts) for dissemination purpose according to a template provided by the organizers.
- Fact finding mission provisional budget with number of days foreseen.
- Summary of activities to be performed during the fact-finding mission and agreed between the sending and hosting institution.
Formality and eligibility check. Applications which do not comply with the complete and correct forms and documents, meeting the deadlines, addressing thematic priorities, will not be considered within the evaluation process.
Evaluation by University Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) and INNOLABS (respectively the Lead Beneficiary and Work Package Leader) with support of Centro Servizi Promozionali per le Imprese (CSPI), based on the ranking order of the scoring (see scoring matrix) and comments of the evaluators. The board will aim at creating a balanced portfolio of projects and individuals as well as a balanced regional and thematic distribution, considering also, the gender balance.
The NEX-LABS Executive Board will formally approve the decisions and advice to start the convention process. After the selection process, the applicants will be informed about the outcome.
Thereafter, those selected individuals will start the procedure to perform the mobility scheme. To facilitate the planning, a check list is provided in section 10 of the Annex to R2B2R application form.
CSPI will oversee purchasing the flight tickets and book accommodation once agreed with the participants the appropriate schedule within the different foreseen Fact-Finding Missions.
CSPI will pay the flight and the hotel and the VISA costs and send the documents both bookings to each selected individual and will pay as well as a transfer of the remaining amount after the implementation of the Mission.
Perform the fact-finding mission as agreed.
To return to the LB (UAB) a report about the outputs of the fact-finding mission employing the NEX-LABS official template.
Send to CSPI, in charge of paying the mobility scheme, the original invoices of all the expenditures to proceed with the corresponding justification (original boarding pass, hotel bills, confirmation of attendance and participation at the scheduled brokerage event or conferences, visa, taxes, transportation, etc…) (Dr. Gustavo Pérez, UAB and Dr. Stefano Andolfi, CSPI). Otherwise, the remaining part of the mobility scheme will not be reimbursed to the participant.